Retirement Plan Basics Course Outline

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The rules around administering retirement plans are in constant fluctuation. Legislative changes to the Internal Revenue Code or ERISA as well as regulatory and sub-regulatory guidance from the Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation can continually change how retirement plans work. 
 
Additionally, ERISA fiduciary breach claims have increased significantly in recent years. For retirement plan administrators, these class actions can be extremely expensive to defend and routinely result in judgments or settlements into the millions of dollars. 
 
It is critical to understand these challenges and how to address them. Knowing their fiduciary duties and the rules regarding retirement plans puts those who administer retirement plans in the best position to minimize risks and maximize the value of the plan for their participants. 
 
This session explores the entire landscape of defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans, including plan design options, with a special emphasis on today’s emerging landmines. The starting point is a thorough description of Social Security benefits—the “floor of protection” upon which all other forms of retirement income are built. Attendees will leave with strategies for guiding their plan’s administration. 

 

Day 1

Introductions

  1. Overview of Social Security
    1. History and philosophy
    2. Eligibility for Social Security benefits
    3. Calculating Social Security benefits
    4. Retirement options by age
    5. When to apply for benefits
    6. Social Security benefits for family members
    7. Disability and Medicare
  2. Retirement plans in context of total rewards and workforce planning

  3. Qualified Retirement Plans
    1. IRS requirements
    2. Advantages of a qualified plan
    3. Possible areas of discrimination
    4. Key laws
    5. Types of plan sponsors
    6. Types of regulations
    7. Types of retirement plans

  4. Defined Benefit (DB) Plans
    1. What is a DB plan?
    2.  Different types of DB plans
    3. Principal design features
    4. Integration with Social Security
    5. Funding
    6. The actuarial process

  5.  Defined Contribution (DC) Plans
    1. What is a DC plan?
    2. Different types of DC plans
    3. Principal design features

  6. Comparing and Contrasting DB and DC Plans

  7. Hybrid Plans
    1. What are hybrid plans?
    2. Different types of hybrid plans
    3. How hybrid plans compare with DB and DC plans
    4. Transition considerations
    5. Variable DB plans

  8. Case Study

Day 2

  1. Internal Revenue Code Requirements
    1. Eligibility requirements/Entry dates
    2. Included and excluded employees
    3. Allocation conditions
    4. Vesting rules//Forfeiture events
    5. Rehired employees
    6. Nondiscrimination testing (Coverage/ADP & ACP/Rate group)
    7. Top-heavy requirements
    8. Limits on contributions (415 limits/402(g) limits)
    9. Distributions
    10. Death Benefits (Before 2020)
    11. Death Benefits (On or After 2020)
    12. Qualified domestic relations orders
    13. Taxation of distributions and rollovers
    14. Automatic enrollment

  2. ERISA Requirements
    1. Form 5500
    2. Required disclosures to participants
    3. Fidelity bond
    4. Blackout notices
    5. Anti-alienation rule
    6. Timing of elective deferral deposits

  3. ERISA Fiduciary Requirements
    1. Who is an ERISA fiduciary?
    2. Types of ERISA fiduciaries
    3. ERISA fiduciary duties
    4. Fiduciary liability
    5. Co-fiduciary liability
    6. Participant direction of investments

  4. Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS)/ Correcting Errors
    1. IRS's Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System
    2. Types of errors that can be corrected
    3. Correction programs available
    4. DOL's Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program
    5. DOL's Delinquent Filer Voluntary Correction Program

  5. Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans

  6. The Future of Retirement
    1. Accounting changes
    2. Legal changes
    3. Economic changes
    4. Government fiscal challenges
    5. Demographic changes
    6. Generational changes

  7. Case Study

    8. In the case study, attendees will be asked to prepare a retirement plan proposal for a fictitious company and present it to the "board of directors."

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